By Shakeia Taylor and Jason Jones | The Athletic, 2026-05-29 10:15:17
被打破的纪录、全网疯传的瞬间、宿敌恩怨、丑闻以及伟大的复出。这一切共同构成了2025-26赛季NBA的奇妙魅力。
算上季后赛，一个赛季有1200多场比赛，这让NBA球迷绝不缺少值得铭记的经典瞬间。作为篮球迷，争论本身就是乐趣的一部分，因此我们预料到您的名单可能与我们的不尽相同。无论您是资深拥趸，还是在等待总决赛开打期间想恶补本赛季重磅故事的新球迷，本文都能满足您的需求。
以下是本赛季（截至目前！）最值得关注的10大故事回顾：
阿德巴约 (Bam Adebayo) 虽然没有像威尔特·张伯伦 (Wilt Chamberlain) 那样砍下100分，但他在对阵华盛顿奇才时轰下的83分，足以让他配得上一张属于自己的纪念照片。(Issac Baldizon / NBAE via Getty Images)
阿德巴约狂砍83分，超越科比的81分升至历史单场得分榜第二
阿德巴约是三届全明星球员，赢得过两枚奥运金牌，并两次打进NBA总决赛。但在他至今九个NBA赛季中，单赛季场均得分达到或超过20分的只有两次，在本赛季之前，他的生涯单场最高得分也仅为41分。
正因如此，3月10日在迈阿密发生的一切才显得如此不可思议。
阿德巴约在战胜实力孱弱的华盛顿奇才队的比赛中狂砍83分。这是NBA历史上单场第二高的得分，超越了科比·布莱恩特 (Kobe Bryant) 在2006年创下的81分纪录，仅次于张伯伦在1962年缔造的单场100分神迹。
阿德巴约此役赢得了一些人的赞誉，但他的刷分方式——迈阿密热火通过故意犯规来争取更多进攻回合——也遭到了批评。然而，在NBA单场得分榜上，排名前三的名字如今赫然写着：张伯伦、阿德巴约和科比。
吉尔杰斯-亚历山大打破张伯伦连续20+得分纪录
无论是凭借精准的中距离投篮、犀利的突破冲击篮筐，还是源源不断地走上罚球线，谢伊·吉尔杰斯-亚历山大 (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) 在整个赛季都保持了极其稳定的输出，最终超越了张伯伦保持的常规赛连续得分20+场次纪录。
3月9日，在战胜丹佛掘金的比赛中，吉尔杰斯-亚历山大砍下35分，追平了张伯伦连续126场比赛得分20+的纪录。三天后，他再次轰下35分——其中包括第四节的14分以及在最后一分钟投进的两记急停跳投——率队击败波士顿凯尔特人，正式打破了张伯伦的纪录。
吉尔杰斯-亚历山大最终将常规赛的连续得分20+纪录定格在了140场。他依然是“合理/纯粹”篮球（ethical basketball）讨论的核心人物，因为有些人认为他是靠演戏和假摔（flop）才达到这一高度的。但这种级别的稳定性绝非偶然，也不是单纯靠骗犯规就能实现的。这是一名球员在高水平对抗中持续输出的体现，无论这在某些人眼里看起来多么“不合理”。
在今年季后赛三次单场得分未能破20之后，吉尔杰斯-亚历山大将在下个赛季寻求延续他的常规赛连续得分纪录。
库珀·弗拉格 (Cooper Flagg) 和康·克内佩尔 (Kon Knueppel) 曾是杜克大学的队友兼室友，他们是近年来竞争最激烈的NBA年度最佳新秀争夺战的领跑者。(Sam Hodde / Getty Images)
库珀对决康，1月29日：新秀的极致对决
其中一位杜克大学出品的球员（弗拉格）本被寄予厚望，要成为达拉斯独行侠的下一位超级巨星。而另一位（克内佩尔）则凭借神准的远投，出人意料地杀入了最佳新秀的争夺战——他在常规赛中投进了创下新秀纪录的273记三分球，领跑全联盟，并帮助夏洛特黄蜂队冲击季后赛席位。
这两位前大学队友兼室友在1月29日的一场创纪录的比赛中狭路相逢，最终克内佩尔罚球绝杀，帮助黄蜂以123-121险胜。20岁的克内佩尔全场砍下34分，并投中了创队史新秀纪录的8记三分球。而19岁的弗拉格则为独行侠轰下49分，创下了NBA青少年球员（未满20岁）的单场得分纪录。这也是这两位前蓝魔（Blue Devils）成员在NBA赛场上的首次正面对决。
两人合力砍下的83分，是自1971年奈特·阿奇博尔德 (Tiny Archibald) 和皮特·马拉维奇 (Pete Maravich) 联手轰下91分以来，两名新秀在同场比赛中合砍的最高得分。
作为2025年NBA选秀的状元秀，弗拉格展现出了超级巨星的潜质，并最终荣膺年度最佳新秀。他场均贡献21分、6.7个篮板和4.6次助攻，打出了自勒布朗·詹姆斯 (LeBron James) 以来从未有青少年球员打出过的统治级数据。他是NBA历史上单场砍下至少50分最年轻的球员，也是仅次于詹姆斯的历史第二年轻的年度最佳新秀。
选秀4号秀克内佩尔在最佳新秀投票中仅以26分之差屈居第二（他获得了44张第一顺位选票，而弗拉格为56张）。克内佩尔本赛季为黄蜂场均贡献18.5分和5.3个篮板，三分命中率高达42.5%。
塔图姆提前复出，重返波士顿赛场
3月6日，当波士顿凯尔特人球星兼建队基石杰森·塔图姆 (Jayson Tatum) 在TD花园球馆对阵独行侠的比赛中完成赛季首秀时，现场气氛异常令人动容——这距离他遭遇跟腱断裂仅仅过去了近10个月。
塔图姆因伤缺席了298天，该伤病发生在2025年东部半决赛的第四场。在复出首秀中，他在27分钟的出场时间里贡献了15分、12个篮板和7次助攻。
在本赛季的16场常规赛和6场季后赛中，塔图姆场均得到22.2分、9.9个篮板和5.7次助攻，投篮命中率为42.8%。尽管凯尔特人的夺冠梦想最终被费城76人队粉碎，但塔图姆的复出历程依然堪称奇迹。
“这真的很酷，伙计，”凯尔特人队友萨姆·豪瑟 (Sam Hauser) 在赛后表示，“这里没有人真正经历过他所承受的一切，我们没有那样的体验。但我完全能想象在某些时刻这有多么艰难。他可能曾感到孤立和孤独，但事实上，他每次客场都和我们在一起，参加录像分析会，参加训练，我认为这帮助他依然感觉自己是球队的一员。而我们也尽了最大努力让他融入其中。”
快船、Aspiration环保公司与普利策奖
播客节目“Pablo Torre Finds Out”的一项调查披露，总部位于加州的环保公司Aspiration同意在一项代言协议中向洛杉矶快船队球星科怀·伦纳德 (Kawhi Leonard) 支付2800万美元，而伦纳德实际上并未为该公司进行任何公开的宣传工作。托雷（Torre）的团队以及随后的《The Athletic》深入挖掘了Aspiration与快船队亿万富翁老板史蒂夫·鲍尔默 (Steve Ballmer) 之间的联系（鲍尔默曾向该公司投资6000万美元），随后NBA宣布展开调查，以确定鲍尔默和快船队是否规避了工资帽规则。
联盟尚未公布调查结果。伦纳德打出了一个全明星级别的赛季，但快船队交易走了詹姆斯·哈登 (James Harden)，并最终无缘季后赛。与此同时，托雷的播客节目因其深入的报道荣获了2026年普利策音频报道奖。
永远难忘印第安纳的那对情侣
你永远不知道自己在现场看球时什么时候会被镜头捕捉到。两名印第安纳步行者队的球迷——格蕾丝 (Grace) 和迈克尔 (Michael)——被镜头拍到正在进行激烈的讨论，画面中格蕾丝显得十分不耐烦。
她在交流中回应的那句“你TM在说什么呢？”在社交媒体上迅速疯传，许多人都在猜测他们到底在聊什么，也有人觉得这一幕简直人间真实。事实证明，这并不是一场争吵，而更像是一场关于文科教育的讨论。
这对情侣连续几天成为社交媒体上的热门话题，人们发现他们甚至比步行者与布鲁克林篮网的比赛本身有趣得多。格蕾丝和迈克尔最后甚至做客了《Inside the NBA》节目。
2月，夏洛特的穆萨·迪亚巴特 (Moussa Diabate) 与底特律的杰伦·杜伦 (Jalen Duren) 爆发冲突，火药味十足。最终导致四名球员被驱逐出场。(David Jensen / Getty Images)
那些火药味十足的冲突时刻
没有点恩怨情仇，还算什么NBA赛季？
我们目睹了几对宿敌之间的对决——有些是双方公开承认的，有些则不然——这些碰撞确实让比赛充满了张力。其中之一是2月份丹佛掘金全明星尼古拉·约基奇 (Nikola Jokić) 与俄克拉荷马雷霆前锋卢根茨·多尔特 (Luguentz Dort) 之间极具身体对抗的交锋，当时一次拼抢彻底点燃了约基奇的怒火。
第四节的这场冲突（雷霆队的杰林·威廉姆斯 (Jaylin Williams) 也卷入其中）最终导致多尔特被驱逐出场，约基奇和威廉姆斯被判技术犯规。最终，多尔特承认自己“有些过头了”。
同样在2月，球迷们目睹了底特律活塞与夏洛特黄蜂之间的一场混战。在底特律的杜伦和夏洛特的迪亚巴特卷入冲突后，共有四名球员被驱逐出场。
此外，还有切特·霍姆格伦 (Chet Holmgren) 与维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 在球场上的宿敌对决，这一戏码正在雷霆与圣安东尼奥马刺的西部决赛中上演。两人的竞争已经酝酿了很久——尽管两位球员都没有直接承认这一点。
“我没想过那个。至少从篮球的角度来看，（我们之间）没有可比性，”文班在12月23日马刺战胜雷霆后于12月表示。
而这种剑拔弩张的张力，正是无数球迷所渴望看到的。
达米安·利拉德 (Damian Lillard) 本赛季没有打过一场NBA常规赛，但他成功从跟腱伤势中恢复过来，参加了全明星周末的NBA三分球大赛，并夺得了他的第三个冠军。(Kirby Lee / Imagn Images)
利拉德时刻：全明星赛上的奇迹
在加州英格尔伍德举行的2026年全明星周末上，九届全明星球员利拉德重返赛场参加NBA三分球大赛，赢得了全场雷鸣般的掌声，并最终夺得他的第三个三分大赛冠军。
利拉德整个赛季都未曾登场，他一直在康复上赛季密尔沃基雄鹿队在对阵印第安纳步行者队的首轮系列赛第四场中遭遇的左跟腱断裂伤势。但在NBA在三分大赛开赛前六天宣布利拉德将参赛后，这位九届全明星球员瞬间抢占了各大媒体的头条。
今年的参赛阵容包括利拉德、克内佩尔、多诺万·米切尔 (Donovan Mitchell)、贾马尔·穆雷 (Jamal Murray)、诺曼·鲍威尔 (Norman Powell)、鲍比·波蒂斯 (Bobby Portis)、泰雷斯·马克西 (Tyrese Maxey) 和德文·布克 (Devin Booker) 八位好手。利拉德在第一轮中砍下27分，与克内佩尔并列第二，仅次于布克的30分；并在决赛轮中轰下29分。他由此加入了拉里·伯德 (Larry Bird) 和克雷格·霍奇斯 (Craig Hodges) 的行列，成为历史上仅有的三位曾三次夺得三分大赛冠军的球员。
“每天清晨，我都会早早起床热身和投篮，运球后投篮、接球投篮，各种投篮方式我都练。我每天都会投几百次，”利拉德说道，“我知道这对我来说不是问题。我不能说我早就知道自己会赢，因为你永远无法预知结果。但我知道我能在场上保持强劲的势头，并给自己争取一个机会。”
“我是带着自信来的。”
尼克斯重温1999年的荣光
在纽约尼克斯队在东部季后赛首轮以1-2落后亚特兰大老鹰队之后，主教练迈克·布朗 (Mike Brown) 的执教能力曾一度遭到质疑。尼克斯在第三场比赛中几乎抹平了18分的落后分差，但最终在4月23日以108-109惜败。
那是尼克斯在本赛季季后赛中最后一次尝到败绩。
纽约随后豪取11连胜夺得东部冠军，并自1999年以来首次杀入NBA总决赛，如今他们对总冠军充满了渴望。纽约重返总决赛并不令人意外，令人震惊的是他们晋级过程的轻松写意。
尼克斯在系列赛晋级战中的平均净胜分高达39.3分。他们在第六场中狂胜老鹰51分；横扫了费城，并在第四场中净胜30分。此后，纽约再次以横扫之势晋级总决赛，并在对阵克利夫兰骑士队的第四场中大胜37分。
杰伦·布伦森 (Jalen Brunson) 在纽约的人气持续飙升，米卡尔·布里奇斯 (Mikal Bridges) 挺身而出，球队一改往季面貌，蜕变成为一支进攻狂飙的劲旅。尼克斯全队状态火热，在14场季后赛中有6场得分至少达到120分。而在防守端，尼克斯甚至更为恐怖，在14场季后赛中，他们有7次将对手的得分限制在100分以下。
尼克斯自1973年以来就再未染指过总冠军，预计在总决赛中他们也将处于被看衰的下风，但他们在季后赛中的强势逆袭以及队内讨喜的球员个性，或许会让他们成为球迷们的心头好。
圣安东尼奥的文班亚马与俄克拉荷马城的霍姆格伦是这两支西部新晋豪强之间宿敌恩怨的核心人物。(Alonzo Adams / Imagn Images)
西部新一代宿敌对决正在成型
尽管外界对雷霆和马刺成为宿敌的讨论沸沸扬扬，但有几个关键事实不容忽视。
雷霆队夺得了2025年NBA总冠军，而这支年轻的马刺队此前甚至还未打进过季后赛。两队自2016年以来就从未在季后赛相遇过——而季后赛往往才是宿敌恩怨诞生并升级的温床。马刺在常规赛对阵雷霆时确实取得过成功，但在季后赛中复制这一成果绝非易事。
在佩科姆中心（Paycom Center）进行的一场惊心动魄的对决中，圣安东尼奥马刺队历经双加时以122-115击败了雷霆队。两队在比赛后期交替打出反击高潮，文班亚马更是交出了史诗级的数据：41分、24个篮板、3次盖帽，并在第一个加时赛中投中了一记超远三分球扳平比分。此外，雷霆队的亚历克斯·卡鲁索 (Alex Caruso) 也出人意料地轰下31分，其中包括8记三分球。
当比赛落下帷幕时，人们已经开始讨论这是否是历史上面对决最精彩的分区决赛首战（Game 1）。这场比赛完美预演了未来的宿敌之战会是何等精彩，对于所有NBA球迷来说，这都将是一场视觉盛宴。
由生成式 AI 翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
点击查看原文：The NBA's top moments of the 2025-26 season: Records, rookies and rivalries
The NBA’s top moments of the 2025-26 season: Records, rookies and rivalries
Broken records, viral moments, rivalries, scandals and great returns. All a part of the magic of the 2025-26 NBA season.
Including the playoffs, there are more than 1,200 games in a season, giving NBA fans no shortage of memorable moments to choose from. Debates are part of the fun in being a hoops fan, so we anticipate your list won’t look exactly like ours. Whether you’re a longtime fan or someone just catching up on the season’s biggest storylines while we’re awaiting the NBA Finals matchup, we’ve got you covered.
Here’s a look back at 10 of the most noteworthy stories from this season (so far!):
Bam Adebayo didn’t score 100 points like Wilt Chamberlain, but his 83 against the Washington Wizards was enough to warrant his own photo opportunity. (Issac Baldizon / NBAE via Getty Images)
Bam scores 83, passes Kobe’s 81 for second in most points
Bam Adebayo is a three-time All-Star, has won two Olympic gold medals and has played in two NBA Finals. He’s only averaged 20 points or more twice in his nine NBA seasons with a career high of 41 points prior to this season.
That’s what made March 10 in Miami so unexpected.
Adebayo scored 83 points in a win over the woeful Washington Wizards. It’s the second-most points scored in a game in NBA history, passing Kobe Bryant’s 81 in 2006 and trailing only Wilt Chamberlain’s 100 points in 1962.
Adebayo was praised by some, but the method — intentional fouling by Miami to get more possessions — was also criticized. Nevertheless, it’s still Wilt, Bam and Kobe in the single-game scoring ranks.
SGA breaks Wilt’s consecutive 20-point-game record
Whether it was his midrange game, getting to the basket or piling up free throws, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander did enough all season to surpass Chamberlain’s record of consecutive 20-point regular season games.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored 35 points and tied Chamberlain’s record of 126 consecutive games on March 9 in a win against the Denver Nuggets. Three days later, Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 35 points — including 14 in the fourth quarter and two pull-up jumpers in the final minute — to beat the Boston Celtics and break Chamberlain’s record.
Gilgeous-Alexander ended the regular season with his streak at 140 games. He remains a central point in the “ethical” basketball discussion, as some feel he’s acted and flopped his way to this mark. But this kind of consistency isn’t an accident or a matter of foul baiting. It’s a player who has produced at a high level, no matter how “unethical” it looks.
Gilgeous-Alexander will look to continue the regular-season streak next season after being held below 20 points three times during this postseason.
Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel, college teammates and roommates at Duke, were the frontrunners of one of the NBA’s closest Rookie of the Year races in years. (Sam Hodde / Getty Images)
Cooper vs. Kon, Jan. 29: A showcase of rookies
One Duke product (Flagg) was supposed to be the Dallas Mavericks’ next big thing. The other (Knueppel) surprisingly put himself into the Rookie of the Year race with his long-distance shooting, making a rookie-record regular-season 273 3s, leading the NBA in the category and helping the Charlotte Hornets push for a postseason spot.
The former college teammates and roommates faced off Jan. 29 in a record-setting game in which Knueppel hit game-winning free throws in a 123-121 victory for the Hornets. Knueppel, 20, finished with 34 points and a franchise-record eight 3s. The 19-year-old Flagg had 49 points for the Mavericks, an NBA record for a teenager. It also was the first time the former Blue Devils played against each other in the NBA.
The 83 combined points were the most by two rookies since Tiny Archibald and Pete Maravich collectively tallied 91 in 1971.
Flagg, the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, showed the makings of a superstar and won Rookie of the Year. He averaged 21 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.6 assists and posted stats by a teenager that haven’t been seen since LeBron James. He’s the youngest player to score at least 50 points and is second-youngest Rookie of the Year, behind James.
Knueppel, the fourth pick in the draft, finished second in Rookie of the Year voting by only 26 points (he had 44 first-place votes to Flagg’s 56). Knueppel averaged 18.5 points and 5.3 rebounds for the Hornets while shooting 42.5 percent from 3-point range.
Tatum returns ahead of schedule for Boston
It was an emotional return for Boston Celtics star and franchise cornerstone Jayson Tatum when made his season debut at TD Garden on March 6 against the Mavericks — almost 10 months after suffering a ruptured Achilles tendon.
Tatum had been sidelined for 298 days recovering the injury that happened during Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals in 2025. In his return, he accounted for 15 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists in 27 minutes of play.
In 16 regular-season games and six playoff games this season, Tatum averaged 22.2 points, 9.9 rebounds and 5.7 assists and shot 42.8 percent from the field. The Celtics hopes for a championship were eliminated by the Philadelphia 76ers, but Tatum’s return was remarkable.
“It was cool, man,” Celtics teammate Sam Hauser said after the game. “No one in here knows what he was going through, just based off experience. But I can only imagine how hard it was in certain times. He probably felt isolated and lonely, but the fact that he was on every trip with us, he was in film sessions, he was at practices, I think it helped him still feel part of the team. And we did our best to keep him included as well.”
The Clippers, Aspiration and a Pulitzer
An investigation by the “Pablo Torre Finds Out” podcast revealed that California-based environmental company Aspiration agreed to pay LA Clippers star Kawhi Leonard $28 million in a sponsorship deal that resulted in Leonard doing no visible work for the company. Torre’s team, and later The Athletic, dug into the connections between Aspiration and Clippers’ billionaire owner Steve Ballmer, who had invested $60 million in the company, and the NBA announced an investigation to determine whether Ballmer and the Clippers circumvented salary cap rules.
The league has yet to announce the results of the investigation. Leonard had an All-Star season, but the Clippers traded James Harden and missed the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Torre podcast won the 2026 Pulitzer Prize in audio reporting for their efforts.
Never forget the couple in Indiana
You never know when you might get caught by the camera while attending a game. Two Indiana Pacers fans, identified as Grace and Michael, were caught on camera having a heated discussion in which Grace looked annoyed.
Her “What the f— are you talking about?” response during the exchange went viral on social media with many wondering what they were talking about, with some finding the moment completely relatable. It turned out to not be an argument but more of a conversation about liberal arts education.
The couple was the talk of social media for days, as people found them far more interesting than the game between the Pacers and Brooklyn Nets. Grace and Michael even ended up with an appearance on “Inside the NBA.”
Tempers flared in February between Charlotte’s Moussa Diabate and Detroit’s Jalen Duren. Four players were ejected as a result. (David Jensen / Getty Images)
Those times when things got heated
What’s an NBA season without a little beef?
We saw a few rivalries — some acknowledged, some not — that really brought the energy. One was the highly physical matchup between Denver Nuggets All-Star Nikola Jokić and Oklahoma City Thunder forward Luguentz Dort in February when one play put fire in the eyes of Jokić.
The fourth-quarter altercation, which also included the Thunder’s Jaylin Williams, resulted in Dort being ejected and Jokić and Williams receiving technical fouls. The ultimate result was Dort admitting that he “went over the limit.”
In February, fans watched a dustup between the Detroit Pistons and the Charlotte Hornets. Four players were ejected after Detroit’s Jalen Duren and Charlotte’s Moussa Diabaté were involved in a fracas.
And then there’s the Chet Holmgren-Victor Wembanyama rivalry on the court, which is being played out in the Western Conference finals between the Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs. It’s been brewing for a while — though neither player will directly address it as such.
“I don’t think about that. At least from a basketball standpoint, there’s no comparison (between us),” Wemby said in December after the Spurs’ victory over the Thunder on Dec 23.
That type of energy is what some people yearn for.
Damian Lillard didn’t play in an NBA game this season, but he managed to recover enough from an Achilles injury to compete in the NBA 3-Point Contest during All-Star Weekend and won his third title. (Kirby Lee / Imagn Images)
Dame Time: An All-Star spectacle
Nine-time All-Star Damian Lillard received a raucous applause when he returned to the court for the NBA 3-Point Contest during the 2026 All-Star Weekend in Inglewood, Calif., where he won his third title.
Lillard hadn’t played the entire season, as he’s been rehabbing a torn left Achilles sustained in Game 4 of the Milwaukee Bucks’ first-round series against the Indiana Pacers last season. But the nine-time All-Star made news after the NBA announced Lillard would be a participant six days before the contest.
This year included an eight-player field of Lillard, Knueppel, Donovan Mitchell, Jamal Murray, Norman Powell, Bobby Portis, Tyrese Maxey and Devin Booker. Lillard scored 27 points in the first round — tying him for second with Knueppel behind Booker’s 30 — and 29 in the championship round. He joined Larry Bird and Craig Hodges as the only three-time champions.
“Every day, I’m up early in the morning warming up and shooting the ball, off the dribble, catch-and-shoot, every style of shot you can shoot. I’m shooting them every day, hundreds of ’em,” Lillard said. “I knew that this would not be an issue for me. I can’t say I knew that I would win, ’cause you just never know. But I knew I would be able to be strong out there and have a chance.
“I came in confident.”
Knicks taking it back to 1999
Mike Brown’s coaching once was being questioned after his New York Knicks trailed the Atlanta Hawks 2-1 in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Knicks nearly overcame an 18-point deficit in Game 3 but lost 109-108 on April 23.
That was the last time the Knicks have been defeated this postseason.
New York has won 11 straight and now has championship aspirations after winning the Eastern Conference and earning its first NBA Finals berth since 1999. That New York is in the NBA Finals isn’t as surprising as the relative ease in which it’s happened.
The Knicks’ average margin of victory in series-clinching games is 39.3 points. They handed the Hawks a 51-point loss in Game 6. They swept Philadelphia and won Game 4 by 30. From there, New York advanced to the finals via sweep and beat the Cleveland Cavaliers by 37 points in Game 4.
Jalen Brunson’s popularity continues to grow in New York, Mikal Bridges has stepped up and the team has become an offensive force, unlike previous seasons. The Knicks are locked in, scoring at least 120 points in six of their 14 playoff games. Defensively, the Knicks may be even scarier, holding their postseason opponents to less than 100 points seven out of 14 times.
The Knicks haven’t won an NBA championship since 1973 and are expected to be underdogs in the finals, but their turnaround in the playoffs and fun personalities might make them a fan favorite.
San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama and Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren are among the centerpieces of a budding rivalry between two Western Conference titans. (Alonzo Adams / Imagn Images)
Western Conference rivalry in the making
For all the chatter about the Thunder and Spurs being rivals, there were some important things to remember.
The Thunder won the 2025 NBA championship. This version of the Spurs had yet to make the playoffs. The franchises hadn’t met since 2016 in the postseason, where rivalries are often born to intensify. The Spurs had success against the Thunder in the regular season, but repeating that in the playoffs would not be as simple.
San Antonio beat the Thunder, 122-115, in double overtime at Paycom Center in a contest that featured comebacks by both teams late and a legendary stat line from Victor Wembanyama (41 points, 24 rebounds, three blocks and a deep 3-pointer to tie the game in the first OT). It also featured Alex Caruso providing an unexpected 31 points for the Thunder, including eight made 3s.
By the time the game ended, there was already discussion as to whether it was the best Game 1 of a conference finals ever. The game was a perfect preview of what a future rivalry could look like, one that will be fun to watch for all NBA fans.
By Shakeia Taylor and Jason Jones, via The Athletic